
A trail of smoke can be seen billowing from the World Trade Center on 9/11 in this image taken by astronaut Frank Culbertson.
Culbertson was the only American in space this day 13 years ago.
While orbiting earth in the International Space Station, Culbertson snapped a photo of smoke streaming above New York City.
"I didn't know exactly what was happening, but I knew it was really bad because there was a big cloud of debris covering Manhattan," Culbertson said in a NASA video on the 10th anniversary of the attacks.
"It's horrible to see smoke pouring from wounds in your own country from such a fantastic vantage point. The dichotomy of being on a spacecraft dedicated to improving life on the earth and watching life being destroyed by such willful, terrible acts is jolting to the psyche, no matter who you are," Culberston wrote.
Culbertson, along with Russian cosmonauts Vladimir Dezhurov and Mikhail Tyurin, had a unique vantage point on the attacks on the World Trade Center.
RIP to the victims of 9/11.
Macias, Amanada. "Here's What 9/11 Was Like For The Only American Watching From
Space." Business Insider. N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.
Space." Business Insider. N.p., 11 Sept. 2014. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.